Belonging to Something Bigger than Me

I'm cracking open this blog scene again. It's been awhile. 45 days awhile. But who's counting? This past month plus has been a season of inexplicable joy coupled with crippling pain. Numbing loss and refreshing memories. Much needed rest and nights that were way too short. 

And in it all, God has been faithful. Amazingly faithful.

I've been inspired working alongside the people of GCC-Elkhart. They tirelessly invested time, energy, sweat and tears the past several months to prepare our new ministry outpost, which opened just before Christmas. 

Since then we've seen our weekend attendance nearly double! A month ago we moved from the Hall of Fame to our new home - an amazing gift from St. John's United Church of Christ - at 2701 E. Bristol Street. Already we're out of space on the weekends. We're offering two service times, 9:30 and 11:30am - and we're packed. We've spent the past several weeks exploring approaches to adding a new service time (more on that in the next post).

But, adding services is only the first of many steps to address the need people have to feel connected, to express significance, to participate in something bigger than they are. It's not just true of our people in Elkhart, it's true at our Granger campus as well.

Our founding pastor, Mark Beeson, dropped by GCC-Elkhart this past Sunday to celebrate the growth we're experiencing in Elkhart. No one infuses confidence and empowers people better than Mark. He observed this innate desire we have to find and express identity with a smaller, tighter-knit group of people. We need team. We want to belong to a family. All of us.

In his blog post late Sunday, Mark asked: How do we "employ" people? Not paid staff. Not new "hires." But how do we help people engage in the movement? He notes:

...too often it's not easy for people to be productively employed in the work of God's Kingdom, and that's not because "folks aren't willing." Many times, it's because they're not adequately informed, trained and equipped. Some times, it's because they're not well-connected. The question becomes, "Since people want to be trained so they can be better employed in God's work (thereby more qualified to add value and make a difference), and many now feel un-connected and under-employed, what are we going to do?"

We're fixing the problem. Here's a sampling of how:

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  1. Easy on-ramps. We're providing convenient and clear steps toward friendship, service and spiritual growth. Easy to navigate web-based assistance makes navigating the easy on-ramps fun.
  2. Discovering GCC, which is our new version of the old Core Class 101. I'm teaching it on two Saturday mornings.: once at our Bristol Street campus on February 11th and once at our Granger campus on March 10th. (You can register here)
  3. Our Volunteer EXPO is matching relational ministry "employment" opportunities to your talents, hopes and dreams. 
  4. The Supply Drop, giving thousands of us one great day to help our struggling neighbors all across Michiana. It's this year's version of last year's Food Drop.
  5. The Commons, which we're building without adding debt so it's easier for connections to happen and friendships to develop.
  6. Weekends, which we're spooling up for new levels of focus and growth.
  7. The Tangible Kingdom Training, GCC's discipleship plan this semester, will enrich your life, connect you to God's Plan and prepare you for your best Easter yet:
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    • Adults on Mondays @ 6:30 PM - both campuses
    • Women on Tuesdays @ 9:00 AM - both campuses
    • Men on Wednesdays @ 6:00 AM - Elkhart campus
    • Men on Wednesdays @ 6:30 AM - Granger campus
    • Online at your convenience
  • God is at work. You can adjust your life to join HIM and I hope you will.

How's that for good news?

John 13:16-17  -  A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn't give orders to the employer. If you understand what I'm telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life.

(Read Mark's entire post here.)

I'm honored to serve on the team with Mark Beeson and the staff he's assembled.. It's a tremendous privilege to partner with the faithful people at GCC-Elkhart and the hundreds of volunteers who are Granger Community Church at our Granger campus. Our best days are ahead. In the words of John (above): act like it. Let's live the blessed life!